In his new book, Parasite Rex, science reporter Carl Zimmer reveals stunning information about bizarre parasites, and the evolution of predatory creatures. Zimmer details the effects parasites have on their hosts–as well as the strategies hosts have developed to combat them. The book is rich with examples that would rival any sci-fi masterpiece. “Every living […]
It Sure is a Scientific World
Posted inIt Sure is a Scientific World
It Sure Is a Scientific World!
Rabbit Jelly
Recently, Chicago “artist” Eduardo Kac struck a deal with the National Institute of Agronomic Research (a French biotechnology center) to create a new kind of rabbit. Using a process called zygote microinjection, scientists pocketed Kac’s cash, and injected modified protein cells from a fluorescent species of jellyfish (Aequorea Victoria) into a fertilized rabbit egg cell. […]
Posted inIt Sure is a Scientific World
It Sure is a Scientific World
Borscht for the Sole
Once again, the Russian intelligentsia have made complete fools of us stupid Americans. While we’ve wasted our time and resources developing micro-processors and mapping human DNA, Russian scientists have perfected Sapogi-Skorokhody, or “Fast-Moving Magic Boots.” After nearly 30 years in development, the internal combustion boots (a cross between leg braces, stilts, and lawn mower engine […]
Posted inIt Sure is a Scientific World
It Sure Is a Scientific World!
Maggot Eaters of Sardinia
Casu Marzu–Sardinian for Rotten Cheese–is Northern Italy’s answer to eating shit. Maggot shit. According to Yaroslav Trefimov of The Wall Street Journal, Casu Marzu, Sardinia’s favorite black market treat, begins with a local cheese called Pecorino, which is left out in the sun, so that nearby barn-flies can deposit their larvae into it, until it […]
Posted inIt Sure is a Scientific World
It Sure is a Scientific World
Looking For Mr. Goodworm
What’s pink, two-feet long, scares little girls, and spits goo? 84-year-old Dorothy McKey-Fender has worms. That’s the good news. The not-so-good news is that even though there are hundreds of worm variants stored throughout her McMinnville home in cans, bottles, and jars, she still hankers for the big one. Dorothy McKey-Fender wants a two-footer. She’s […]
Posted inIt Sure is a Scientific World
It Sure is a Scientific World
A Solution to Drinking
David Jones of Nature: The International Weekly Journal of Science recently introduced a scientific bombshell that could change the way people get screaming drunk–by injecting booze into the brain. Jones acknowledges what doctors have known for years: the liver takes the fun out of drinking. Not only does it process and detoxify substances, it waylays […]